The Most Challenging Bosses In Dark Souls 2

Even if Dark Souls 2 is the ugly duckling of FromSoftware’s pristine line of action RPGs, the game is still a solid entry in the Dark Souls series. Despite its flaws, Dark Souls 2 still takes you on a thrilling adventure through fallen kingdoms filled with powerful enemies. Regarding boss fights, Dark Souls 2 might end on the easy side of the FromSoftware scale. Still, some hard encounters will force you to ‘git gud.’

Mostly thanks to a series of great DLCs that far surpass the base game in terms of boss quality, Dark Souls 2 still has some tough-as-nails bosses that will test your patience. Here are the hardest bosses in the game, ranked by how long they will make you suffer.

Updated on March 25, 2025, by Mohamed El Ouardighi: Dark Souls 2 is arguably the most controversial game in FromSoftware’s lineup, but there’s no denying its unique charm and some of the most challenging bosses in the series. That’s why we’ve updated this list to include a few more fights that truly stand out.

15

Ruin Sentinels

Animated Armor

The Ruins Sentinels are one of the first bosses you’ll encounter in Dark Souls 2, which is why they are especially tricky to beat. When you cross paths with the Sentinels in The Lost Bastille, you will still be mastering the game’s mechanics, making them the first big skill check in your journey.

Dealing with a single Ruin Sentinel is not so bad. Yes, they do a lot of damage and have plenty of health. Still, their attacks are well-telegraphed, so you can learn how to dodge them. The problem is that the Ruin Sentinels boss fight has three enemies at once, forcing you to stay on your toes the entire battle. In subsequent runs and NG+ cycles, the Ruin Sentinels are easy to dispatch. Yet, their challenging first encounter makes them one of the hardest bosses in Dark Souls 2.

14

Looking Glass Knight

The Mirror Knight

The Looking Glass Knight, found in King’s Passage, is more of an annoying fight than a truly difficult one. His massive shield blocks most melee and ranged attacks, forcing you to constantly reposition to land hits. On top of that, his sword and lightning attacks cover large portions of the arena, making proper positioning crucial throughout the battle.

What really makes this fight frustrating is his ability to summon phantoms, which can include both NPCs and real players. If you end up facing a skilled PvP opponent, this fight can quickly turn into a nightmare, turning what should be a manageable encounter into a serious roadblock.

13

Aldia, Scholar Of The First Sin

The Monster Of The Bonfire

King Vendrick’s malevolent brother, and the cause of much pain and suffering in the kingdom of Drangleic, Aldia sought the secrets of the undead curse but failed to find the true purpose of the curse. Either as a result of his failures or some other side-effect of his research, Aldia has been transformed into a monstrous abomination, only appearing to the Bearer of the Curse as a malformed head, seemingly charred and burnt by the flames of the bonfire he appears to reside in.

While mostly immobile in battle, Aldia can teleport around the battlefield while striking with powerful magic attacks and appendages that appear to be branches of a tree. Keeping your footing is key in this battle, as Aldia will spread waves of flames across the battlefield, too, damaging you while trying to get close enough to attack.

12

Sinh, The Slumbering Dragon

The Dragon Sleeps No More

Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon, is the final boss of the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. The mighty dragon spills poisoned fire that builds up your Toxic meter, forcing you to constantly evade the clouds of miasma it leaves in its waking. Sinh has a ton of HP as an endgame boss, and some of its attacks might kill you in one hit, depending on your build. As such, the dragon poses a tremendous challenge.

Sinh also has the bothersome habit of flying away from your attacks, meaning you need to keep dodging until the dragon decides to land again. That extends the duration of the fight and forces you to manage your resources for a long time.

Cutting the tail of Sihn doesn’t grant you any unique weapon. However, without its tail, Sinh will use flying attacks more often. Cutting Sinh’s tail is a bad move for melee builds, so watch out where you hit the dragon.

11

Burnt Ivory King

The Ruler of Eleum Loyce

The Burnt Ivory King stands between you and the Crown of the Ivory King, one of the items you need to unlock a new ending in Dark Souls 2. Taking down the Ivory King is no easy task, though. This knight in shining armor is fast, hits like a truck, and his attacks have incredible range, forcing you to master its dodging windows.

To make matters worse, the Ivory King makes its last stand in an arena filled with portals that constantly spawn Charred Loyce Knights. So, you need to fight off the Ivory King’s allies while trying to take down the boss himself.

You can make the fight easier by finding the Loyce Knights scattered across the DLC. They will fight by your side against the Ivory King’s forces and eventually sacrifice their lives to keep the portals closed. Even so, this is one of the hardest bosses in Dark Souls 2.

Charred Loyce Knights have a rare chance to drop Loyce Souls. You’ll need 50 Loyce Souls to get the Soul of Alsanna and unlock the Ivory King armor set.

So, if you are a completionist, you must farm the Charred Loyce Knights before you defeat the Ivory King. You can also farm Loyce Souls in co-op.

10

Twin Pursuers

They Won’t Stop Until You’re Dead

The Pursuer is a recurring enemy that will block your path numerous times as you explore Drangleic. By the endgame, you already know how to dodge its attacks properly, but nothing prepares you to fight two Pursuers simultaneously. The Twin Pursuers are not official bosses, spawning as regular enemies in Drangleic’s Castle throne room. There’s no fog door and no visible HP bar for them. However, since they don’t respawn, have huge health bars, and are a phenomenal challenge, we think giving them a place in the ranking is fair.

The Twin Pursuers will only appear in NG+ or after you burn a Bonfire Ascetic in the King’s Gate Bonfire, meaning they’ll have upgraded stats compared to the base game. That’s only one more reason why they are so hard to beat.

9

Velstadt, The Royal Aegis

Found in the Undead Crypt, the imposing form of Velstadt, the Royal Aegis, with his massive hammer, is an imposing one. His range is gigantic, and while he might be a little slow with his attacks, any hits you take will deal a significant amount of damage. Once you deal enough damage to Velstadt, he’ll give himself a buff that increases his defense and attack while also giving him a magic attack that can take out players in a single hit.

Even the path leading up to Velstadt is challenging, requiring you to run through a gauntlet of knights before. Defeating this boss will grant you the Soul of Velstadt, which you can exchange for either the Sacred Oath miracle or the Sacred Chime Hammer.

8

Nashandra

The Queen Herself

Nashandra, the final boss of Dark Souls 2, is a formidable opponent with one major threat – curse buildup. If the meter fills completely, it results in instant death, making her scythe attacks especially dangerous as she delivers rapid slashes that quickly stack curse. On top of that, she summons orbs that not only inflict curse but also drain HP if you get too close, leaving you vulnerable in an already small arena.

And just when you think it couldn’t get worse, her second phase introduces a devastating laser attack. If you fail to block or dodge it, you might not survive; whether from the beam itself or the lingering effects of her curse-inflicting orbs. As the final challenge of the game, she ensures that only the most prepared players can claim victory.

7

Elana, The Squalid Queen

Queen Of The Sunken King

Elana, the Squalid Queen, is a powerful spellcaster who teleports around the arena and keeps launching projectiles at you. She also has a scythe to punish you for getting too close to her. That combination already makes her quite a challenging boss. Yet, the worst thing about Elana is that she constantly summons enemies to help take you down.

Elana will randomly summon skeletons, a wild boar, or Velstadt. Velstadt is a boss who you must defeat in the base. So, since Elana has an enormous health pool that gives her plenty of time to summon help multiple times during the fight, you’ll likely have to fight two powerful bosses simultaneously.

6

Blue Smelter Demon

A Fire Burns Within

Regular Smelter Demons deal fire damage and get stronger the longer they remain alive. That means the best strategy to deal with Smelter Demons is to kill them as fast as possible. That’s easier said than done regarding the Blue Smelter Demon, the boss version with the biggest health pool.

The Blue Smelter Demon also trades the fire damage of its brethren for magic damage. Having decent magic defenses in Dark Souls 2 is harder than blocking fire damage, so fighting the Blue Smelter Demon requires preparation. Add to that the fact that this boss keeps increasing its damage output during the whole fight, and it easily becomes one of the hardest bosses in Dark Souls 2.

5

The Ancient Dragon

A False Deity

Dragons are key to the core of Dark Souls 2’s story, and though the Ancient Dragon may or may not be a natural dragon, it still is a massive beast that can prove to be quite the challenge to players should they choose to fight it. This optional boss is one of the largest in the game, boasting a massive amount of health and dealing tons of damage with both its fire-breathing and brutal attacks.

The one good thing is since the Ancient Dragon is so large, it is fairly obvious when it telegraphs attacks. One of the best strategies to take down this colossal beast is to attack the back part of the dragon, focusing on striking the dragon’s feet. While he can still stomp and deal a significant amount of damage, it is easier to dodge his flame attack while further away from his head.

4

Darklurker

Born Of The Abyss

To face the Darlurker, you must complete the three Dark Chasm of Old, small dungeons filled with powerful NPC enemies. Once you’ve done that, you’ll meet an angelic boss who can teleport and shoot magic at you.

Darklurker’s damage output is absurd, its movement pattern makes it hard to hit, and one tiny slip of your part can result in death. In that case, you must complete the third Dark Chasm of Old again to face it again, a path that drains your resources before a tough boss fight. Finally, Darklurker splits into two when it reaches 60 percent of its health, forcing you to evade two bosses at the same time.

3

Sir Alonne

Warrior Of Another Land

Sir Alonne is one of the best boss battles in the Dark Souls series. This optional boss is an honorable knight who greets you every time you enter the room just before he wipes the floor with your dead carcass. There’s no trick to beating Sir Alonne, you just have to learn his movement pattern and react to every attack. The result is a thrilling sword fight between two mighty warriors.

While Sir Alonne doesn’t have area attacks or magic, he’s still a formidable opponent that makes the best of Dark Souls 2 combat system. He’s one of the ultimate skill checks for experienced players, with a fair but hard-to-master fighting style.

2

Lud And Zallen

Executioners Of The Ivory King

Lud and Zallen are one of the worst bosses in Dark Souls 2. They are a reskin of a previous boss, are highly aggressive, and fighting them alone leaves few windows to counterattack. Their attacks also corrode weapons, meaning you must repair your equipment mid-fight. In addition, once you kill one of the two tigers, the other gets enraged, increasing its aggressivity to a level that it’s hard even to dodge its attacks.

Lud and Zallen are a pain to fight, but there’s no arguing that they are extremely challenging. The chaotic fight and powerful attacks make the duo quite unpleasant, but taking them out is still something you’ll only manage with a lot of practice.

1

Fume Knight

Vendrick’s Traitous Knight

Fume Knight is a beast. He has an incredible range, deals physical and fire damage, is fast, and rarely stops attacking you. To win the fight, you must learn its patterns and find a way to chip at his health while trying to stay alive. Fume Knight’s arena is also surrounded by statues that heal the boss, prolonging your suffering. To deactivate these statues, you must fully explore the Crown of the Old Iron King DLC, including defeating Sir Alonne.

Fume Knight is one of those bosses that feel impossible to beat. Yet, after you beat him, you better understand the game’s mechanics and feel ready to face bigger challenges. This incredible sensation is one of the greatest rewards FromSoftware offers with its games.